MONROE – The Southeastern Louisiana University football team led wire-to-wire on the way to a 38-35 victory over FBS foe ULM Saturday evening at FMOL Health St. Francis Stadium.
The win was the first for the Lions (2-2) over an FBS foe since the program returned from an 18-year hiatus in 2003. SLU had lost 35 straight versus FBS competition before Saturday’s win over the Warhawks (0-3).
Southeastern led 38-20 early in the fourth quarter, but the Warhawks came back to cut it within three in the final minutes. However, SLU was able to turn ULM over on downs in the final minute to clinch the victory and hold off the late rally by the hosts.
“This group plays so hard and I’m just so happy for our team,” Southeastern head coach Frank Scelfo said. “We’re still finding out who our team is, but I’ve never questioned our effort. The difference today was we took advantage of our opportunities and took care what we needed to, which was why we won today.”
The Lions did everything necessary to earn the elusive win over an FBS foe, winning the turnover battle, 3-1, and posting a pair of return touchdowns.
Southeastern forced ULM starting quarterback Austin Carlisle into three key turnovers. Richard McKneely and CJ Fraser each intercepted passes with the former posting SLU’s first pick-six of 2026, while James Harris stripped Carlisle and Trace Carter and recovered the fumble. Carter Hanberry led SLU with 13 tackles, while Harris, Carter, Khalid Moore and Max Elkman each had sacks.
Kyle Lowe was efficient leading a Southeastern offense that finished with 353 total yards, completing 18 of 25 passes for 155 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Lonnie Shinn and Tristan Goodly each caught touchdowns, while Dkhai Joseph had a team-high six catches for 47 yards.
Southeastern also won the special teams battle. Joseph returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown, while Jack Hunter averaged 50.4 per punt on seven punts.
Carlisle (19-for-24, 183 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT) and Aidan Armenta (10-for-21, 148 yards, 1 TD) split time under center for the Warhawks with Nic Trujillo catching two of those scoring passes. Derrick Jameson led the ULM rushing attack with 85 yards and two scores on nine carries.
After the teams traded punts to start the game, Southeastern took the lead. SLU went 4-for-4 on third downs on a 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive that Lowe capped with a 31-yard scoring toss to Shinn to give the Lions a 7-0 lead with 3:10 left in the opening quarter.
SLU forced a Warhawk three-and-out, but ULM forced a Southeastern turnover on the ensuing punt and took over at the Lion 29-yard line.
ULM took advantage of the short field in the first minute of the second quarter. Carlisle found Patrick Fulghum from 17 yards out to get the Warhawks on the board, though the PAT was missed to keep Southeastern in front, 7-6, with 14 minutes left in the first half.
After a Southeastern three-and-out, ULM moved into Southeastern territory, but Harris stripped Carlisle on a sack and Khalid Moore fell on the loose ball at the Warhawk 34-yard line. Five plays later, Lowe hit a quick slant to Goodly for a three-yard score and a 14-6 lead with 8:38 remaining in the second quarter.
Southeastern force a three-and-out and Joseph returned the ensuing punt 23 yards to near midfield. Five plays later, Kyree Paul raced up the middle 17 yards for a score and a 21-6 Lion lead with 4:10 left in the first half.
ULM cut into the lead late in the second quarter, as Carlisle found Trujillo from seven yards out to pull the hosts within, 21-13, with 32 seconds left.
A 31-yard Chad Elzy Jr. run moved Southeastern into ULM territory and Drew Talley connected on a 43-yard field goal to send the Lions into halftime with a 24-13 advantage.
ULM took the opening drive of the second half deep into Lion territory, but Fraser intercepted a Carlisle pass at the three-yard line to keep the lead at 24-13 with 10:30 remaining in the third quarter.
The two teams traded punts and Joseph returned the Warhawk punt 78 yards for a score and a 31-13 Southeastern lead with 5:34 left in the third quarter.
ULM answered with an eight-play, 75-yard scoring march on the ensuing drive. Jameson hurdled a Lion on the way to a 32-yard scoring touchdown scamper to pull the Warhawks within, 31-20, with two minutes remaining in the third period.
On the first play from scrimmage of the fourth quarter, McKneely made a leaping interception at the ULM 11-yard line and returned it for a touchdown to put SLU up, 38-20, with 14:44 left in the game.
ULM cut into the lead on its ensuing possession. Jameson powered in from two yards out and then converted the two-point try to cut the Southeastern advantage to 38-28 with 10:54 remaining.
After the teams traded punts, ULM cut further in the lead, as Armenta found Trujillo for a 47-yard scoring pass to trim Southeastern’s advantage to 38-35 with 3:03 left.
The Lions were able to drain the Warhawks of timeouts before a punt gave ULM the ball back at its own 20-yard line with 56 seconds remaining. The Warhawks picked up a couple of first downs, but Kenneth Ford Jr. broke up a fourth-and-10 pass to clinch the historic victory for SLU.
Saturday’s game was the first of three straight games on the road for the Lions. SLU heads to Northwestern State next Saturday for a 6 p.m. contest in Natchitoches. The game with the Demons will be televised on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM, The Boss 103.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM).
SLU – 7 17 7 7 – 38 (2-2)
ULM – 0 13 7 15 – 35 (0-3)
1st Quarter
SLU – Shinn 31 pass from Lowe (Talley kick), 3:10
2nd Quarter
ULM – Fulghum 17 pass from Carlisle (Murray kick failed), 14:00
SLU – Goodly 3 pass from Lowe (Talley kick), 8:38
SLU – Paul 17 run (Talley kick), 4:10
ULM – Trujillo 8 pass from Carlisle (Murray kick), 0:32
SLU – Talley 43 FG, 0:00
3rd Quarter
SLU – Joseph 78 punt return (Talley kick), 5:34
ULM – Jameson 32 run (Murray kick), 2:00
4th Quarter
SLU – McKneely 11 interception return (Talley kick), 14:44
ULM – Jameson 2 run (Jameson run), 10:54
ULM – Trujillo 47 pass from Armenta (Murray kick), 3:03
SLU ULM
FIRST DOWNS 15 27
RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 30-124 35-180
PASSING YDS (NET) 155 331
Passes Att-Comp-Int 25-18-0 45-29-2
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 55-279 80-511
Fumble Returns-Yards 1-0 1-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards 1-16 3-52
Punt Returns-Yards 3-106 3-5
Interception Returns-Yards 2-11 0-0
Punts (Number-Avg) 7-50.4 5-45.8
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-1
Penalties-Yards 4-27 7-60
Possession Time. 26:31 33:29
Third-Down Conversions 6-for-14 9-for-16
Fourth-Down Conversions 0-for-0 1-for-2
Red Zone Scores-Chances 2-2 3-4
RUSHING: SLU – Elzy Jr. 8-58, Jackson 10-46, Paul 5-27, Smith 3-6, Team 1-(-1), Lowe 3-(-12). Totals – 30-124. ULM – Jameson 9-85, Carlisle 13-76, Kinchen 5-16, Phillip 1-5, Roland 4-4, Jackson 1-(-3), Armenta 2-(-3). Totals – 35-180.
PASSING: SLU – Lowe 18-25-0-155-2. Totals – 18-25-0-155-2. ULM – Carlisle 19-24-2-183-2, Armenta 10-21-0-148-1. Totals – 29-45-2-331-3.
RECEIVING: SLU – Joseph 6-47, Shinn 4-49, Goodly 3-22, Elzy Jr. 2-26, Smith Jr. 1-6, Jefferson 1-6, Wilkerson 1-(-1). Totals – 18-155. ULM – Jackson 7-51, Fulghum 5-88, Trujillo 5-79, Robinson 4-49, Anderson 3-26, Roland 3-16, Coulter 1-18, Jameson 1-4. Totals – 29-331.
A – n/a.
TICKETS
For ticket information, contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net. Southeastern will continue offering mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets. All tickets will be available via e-mail or text message in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.
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TOUCHDOWN CLUB/S CLUB
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